Gophers Basketball – Page 118 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Fans Guessing on WR Recruit

Posted on February 2, 2016February 2, 2016 by David Shama

Former Gophers assistant head coach Matt Limegrover, now offensive line coach at Penn State, is trying to persuade four-star wide receiver Dredrick Snelson to sign his National Letter of Intent with the Nittany Lions tomorrow.

Ryan Burns, publisher of Scout’s GopherDigest.com, told Sports Headliners Limegrover has visited Snelson’s Florida home and last weekend he was on the Penn State campus. But recruiting authority Matt Jessen-Howard tweeted a quote on Sunday where Snelson said Gophers fans should not worry about his loyalty.

Snelson gave a verbal commitment to the Gophers last summer but there has been ongoing speculation he has or will change his mind. Burns, who has been covering recruiting for five years, has seldom seen such intrigue involving a recruit.

Burns said Snelson has sent mixed messages. “Penn State is confident they’re going to get him,” Burns said. “Central Florida, where he has been twice this month (January), is confident they’re going to get him. The Gophers are thinking they’re going to land him.

“Two out of the three parties are going to be wrong. We won’t find out until Wednesday morning. How does it end? I think it ends he signs with Minnesota but I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again. …”

Burns described Snelson, from Pembroke Pines, Florida, as “media savvy” and someone who enjoys the recruiting publicity. On the telephone he found Snelson to be respectful and a “nice kid.”

Snelson, about 5-11, 200-pounds, has impressive but not dominating physical skills. He is projected as a slot receiver with the Gophers and Burns believes Snelson could be ready as a freshman to succeed 2015 starter K.J. Maye who used up his eligibility.

Snelson, along with Eden Prairie High School linebacker Carter Coughlin, is one of only two consensus four-star recruits who have verbally pledged to the Gophers. Not many Florida four-star recruits commit to Minnesota but Burns believes Snelson likes how the Gophers use the slot receiver and that he sees an opportunity to play early in his career. New Gophers offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, who replaced Limegrover, has been involved with recruiting Snelson since last month.

In recent years the Gophers’ receiving roster has lacked impact players and no doubt Snelson is aware of that. Burns said in-state receivers Drew Hmielewski from Marshall and Phillip Howard from Robbinsdale Cooper may have even better potential as college players than Snelson.

Recruiting Websites list 19 players as part of the Gophers’ 2016 class. Burns believes the verbal commitments of all are solid except for Snelson and Coney Durr who visited Virginia Tech last weekend. Durr, a three-star recruit from Geismar, Louisiana, is a defensive back.

Worth Noting

The Gophers’ commitment list has only one running back, Butler (Kansas) Community College transfer Kobe McCrary. Gophers head coach Tracy Claeys said on WCCO “Radio’s Sports Huddle” on Sunday recruiting running backs has been a challenge because freshmen Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith were so successful last fall.

McCrary, about 6-1 and 230-pounds, gives the Gophers a backup to Brooks and Smith. He has more size than either of them and helps replace power running Rodrick Williams who was a senior last year.

The Big Ten Network will have Big Ten coverage of Signing Day tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Central Time. As of yesterday Scout.com listed three Big Ten programs in the top 10 nationally: Ohio State, No. 2; Michigan, No. 5; and Michigan State No. 7. Minnesota is No 43.

Part of the network’s coverage tomorrow will be Michigan’s “Signing with the Stars” event featuring celebrities from sports, music and entertainment. Celebrities expected to attend are Tom Brady, John Harbaugh, Derek Jeter, Jim Leyland, Denard Robinson, NASCAR’s Brad Keslowski, wrestling’s Ric Flair and others. They will introduce head coach Jim Harbaugh’s 2016 football class.

Jaylon Boston is a name for Gophers fans to follow in the next 12 months. “He is a hell of a player,” said McKinley Boston, Jaylon’s grandfather and the former Gophers athletic director.

Jaylon lives with his grandfather in New Mexico and attends Centennial High School in Las Cruces. As a sophomore, the 5-10, 185-pound running back was second team all-state, but because of what his grandfather described as a “medical” situation he didn’t play as a junior. Boston said New Mexico State, where his grandfather was athletic director until about a year ago, is looking at Jaylon but the Gophers aren’t.

Despite speculation to the contrary, don’t give up on the University of Minnesota and former football coach Jerry Kill being able to develop a new position for him at the school. There has been contact between the two parties.

Gophers senior guard Rachel Banham could end the season as the Big Ten’s scoring leader. In 21 games she is averaging 24.3 points per game and ranks second behind Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, 25.3 points. Banham has scored 20 or more points in nine consecutive games and has done that 19 times this season. Former Hopkins High School standout Nia Coffey, a junior forward at Northwestern, is fifth in scoring at 20 points per game and first in rebounding at 10.4.

Although the Gophers lost at Michigan on Sunday, they have won four of their last five games. Minnesota, 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten, won those games by seven points or less, and the Gophers have shown the ability to close out opponents in the fourth quarter. The Gophers play Rutgers, 13-9 and 4-6, at home on Thursday night.

Former Timberwolves assistant Eric Musselman is drawing attention in his first season as head coach at the University of Nevada. Nevada’s pregame ball handling warm-up is a hit and the team is playing competitively in the Mountain West.

Musselman, who was a head coach in the NBA with the Kings and Warriors, might be on a list of candidates if the Timberwolves make a coaching change. Interim Timberwolves head coach Sam Mitchell is trying out for the permanent job. Other potential candidates perhaps could include Tom Thibodeau, the former Timberwolves assistant and ex-Bulls head coach who is well-known for his defensive teachings.

Connor Nord, the former St. Thomas basketball center whose final season was 2014-2015, has been playing professionally in Germany, and plans to continue his career in Europe. Marcus Alipate, a combo guard who played four seasons with Nord at St. Thomas, will be playing pro ball in New Zealand.

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The ‘Polish Eagle’ Flies High in Life

Posted on January 29, 2016February 1, 2016 by David Shama

Dick Jonckowski—a.k.a. the “Polish Eagle”—says no two days are the same for him. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jonckowski is 72 and has made a livelihood from stringing together small town radio jobs, speaking engagements and public address assignments at sports events. His trademark smile, vintage jokes and passion for sports have made him well-known in Minnesota for decades. His work and personality have landed him in eight halls of fame in the state including those sponsored by Minnesota high school coaches for baseball, basketball and football.

The money has not been that great but, what a fun ride! Having fought off cancer, and with his diabetes under control, Jonckowski has the same energy as 10 years ago—with no plans to change anything about a life that sometimes has him travelling from Shakopee to Dinkytown, from MSP Airport to Canada.

Jonckowski has lived in Shakopee with his wife Arlene for 50 years. He is one of only two public address announcers in Williams Arena history. The famous basketball home of the Gophers opened in 1928 and Julie Perlt was the P.A. man until Jonckowski succeeded him starting with the 1986-87 season.

Seven athletic directors and five coaches later, Jonckowski is still courtside providing fans with information during games. Sometime later this season a halftime ceremony at Williams Arena (date not announced yet) will recognize him for his 30 years behind the microphone.

Ask Jonckowski about the 30 years and the memories come so fast it seems like he doesn’t know where to begin telling stories. A classic memory was the night Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong left the team bench during the game and walked up an aisle while Gophers fans looked on with amazement. Byrdsong started wandering around Williams Arena after a disputed call by a referee. The coach’s brain cells seemed awry that evening, and Byrdsong even challenged the final score of the game—insisting to Jonckowksi the Wildcats, not the Gophers, won the game.

When Tubby Smith coached the Gophers he checked in with Jonckowski just before tipoff. He wanted a quick story—a funny joke—to loosen him up before the game.

Jonckowski might have told Smith he just got back from a pleasure trip: “I took my mother-in-law to the airport.”

In 2013 Smith’s Gophers upset then No. 1 ranked Indiana at Williams Arena. Jonckowski loved it and so did the fans who poured out of their seats and onto the floor when the game ended. “They jumped right over my head,” he said.

The Gophers’ 1994 triple overtime win against Iowa at Williams Arena is a special memory. “I was so exhausted at the end of that game—because I was really into it,” Jonckowski remembered. “I was actually hyperventilating at the end of the game.”

Voshon Lenard had 38 points for Minnesota in the game. Jonckowski lists Lenard as one of his favorite Gophers during the last 30 seasons. The others are Willie Burton, Austin Hollins, Bobby Jackson, Sam Jacobson and Jim Shikenjansky.

Jonckowski, who will be in his 28th season as the Gophers baseball P.A. man this year, got his start working U games because then athletic director Paul Giel liked him. He teased Giel about his major league baseball career as a journeyman pitcher. Jonckowski claimed there was a game when three consecutive balls thrown by Giel were knocked over the fence. The manager made a trip to the mound and asked the catcher what Giel’s pitches looked like to him. “I don’t know,” the catcher said. “I haven’t caught any of them yet.”

Jonckowski has been doing P.A. work for Shakopee High School basketball games since 1989. Before games he goes on the court and throws behind the back passes to players while they take their warm-up shots.

Jonckowski has been tossing behind the back passes for decades. For years he worked as a field usher for Vikings games at Met Stadium. A stray football might be returned to a game official with a behind the back pass. And as a kid he would practice the move with a basketball in his basement, inspired by 1950s Celtics guard Bob Cousy.

It was Cousy, playing on national TV, who dribbled and passed behind his back, threw no-look passes and inspired a generation of young admirers like Jonckowski. He loved the showmanship and tried the Cousy routine at New Prague High School where he was a starting guard.

Coach Doug Shonka wasn’t buying in. “Richard, we don’t play like that,” he told his maverick guard.

Sorry, coach, but Jonckowski is still doing a little showboating. “I can (still) throw it 45 feet behind my back,” he said.

Jonckowski’s father George owned movie theaters and the family lived in various Minnesota towns. “Between first and ninth grades we moved six times,” Jonckowski recalled. “I didn’t like that.”

George had a good sense of humor and advocated enjoying life. “No one gets out alive,” he told his son.

That zest for life attitude is Jonckowski’s mantra. “Some of my friends are pretty negative people. Every day is a negative day for them. I just say, ‘You’re alive, you might as well make the best of it.’

“I always say you’re dead a long time, so you better do what you can while you’re here.”

Jonckowski had a brief try at minor league baseball after high school and then started a radio career that includes KSMM in Shakopee. He was on the station for 38 years with various assignments including his popular “Coaches Round Table Show.”

The last 10 years the focus has been on public address work and emcee and speaking assignments. Well-known in Minnesota, Jonckowski has networked with contacts that led to engagements out east and also in Canada. The assignments can be sporadic but Jonckowski always shows up ready to have fun and provoke laughs with jokes like this one:

A burglar breaks into a couple’s home and goes to the bedroom. He asks the terrified wife what her name is. “It’s Betty,” the woman answers.

“Oh, my God,” the burglar said. “My grandmother’s name is Betty. My mom’s name is Betty. My wife’s name is Betty. I couldn’t possibly think of harming you.”

Then the burglar asks the husband for his name.

“It’s Frank—but all my friends call me Betty,” the husband answers.

Jonckowski tells that story and laughs hard. He guesses he could recall 50 or more jokes without skipping a beat.

That humor helps feed his soul. So, too, does the museum-like sports memorabilia dominating the Jonckowski residence in Shakopee.

Drive up to the home and the first thing you might notice is the Philadelphia Eagles styled mailbox. Or maybe it’s the statue of an eagle near the front door. And there is no missing the personalized license plates on his Chevy Malibu: E GLE 1.

As a kid Jonckowski fell in love with the Eagles. During a short stint as a car salesman in Shakopee his boss told him everyone working at the dealership needed a nickname. He was dubbed the “Polish Eagle” because he is Polish and for his fondness for the Philadelphia NFL team.

Jonckowski became an avid collector of sports memorabilia while growing up and he’s spent much of his adult life acquiring more. He has a couple hundred bobbleheads and all kinds of other stuff ranging from pennants to programs, from magazines to autographed photos, and from vintage clothing to models of stadiums.

Arlene and Dick in their basement surrounded by memorabilia.

The memorabilia fills an upstairs bedroom, part of the basement and the walls of the garage. It’s fascinating to look at memorabilia spanning seven decades but all that stuff takes up a lot of space.

“Well, it’s been a challenge—have to say that,” Arlene said. “Recently he’s downsized, so that has helped a lot.”

Dick and Arlene met at New Prague High School. He was a jock and she was a cheerleader. Dick was two years ahead of Arlene in school but once they started dating that was it. A courtship followed and 50 years of marriage will be celebrated on April 30 of this year. The Jonckowskis have two adult children, Jennifer Eich, 48, and Jeff Jonckowski, 44.

Arlene is retired after a career that included nursing. She is a sports fan but sometimes she and Dick aren’t always on the same page. Last Sunday their interests collided when the Broncos played the Patriots for the AFC Championship. Arlene likes the Patriots, while her husband was for the Broncos. The couple had to separate on Sunday. “We couldn’t be in the same room (watching on TV),” Arlene said.

Arlene has a vintage telephone with a crank handle that once belonged to her grandparents. She also has a collection of copper kitchen items, but she has no ambitions to fill rooms with memorabilia like her husband.

Arlene, however, does have a poster down in the basement where a lot of Dick’s stuff dominates. On display is a full color poster of a sexy soap opera actor. It is personally inscribed like this:

“Arlene, with lust. Drake Hogestyn.”

Even with all his array of sports memorabilia, Dick might not be able to top that poster from the “Days of Our Lives” heartthrob.

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Goal Drought Ongoing for the Wild

Posted on January 27, 2016January 27, 2016 by David Shama

Goal scoring is a Minnesota Wild problem that doesn’t get solved. It was a barstool and chat room topic a couple of years ago, and there it was again last spring after the Wild was swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Blackhawks. Minnesota scored just seven goals in the four games, once being shutout and in another game coming up with one goal.

And now in January the Wild has scored 23 goals in 13 games. So far during the 2015-2016 season only eight of the NHL’s 30 teams have scored fewer goals than Minnesota.

Wild fans fantasize about a trade for goal scoring help. General manager Chuck Fletcher and the rest of the NHL have until 3 p.m. (ET) February 29 to make deals. The Wild might pull off a move but league imposed salary cap restrictions enter into trade strategies and negotiations.

The Wild may want to trade so-so veterans and goal scorers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek. Pominville reportedly earns $5.5 million and Vanek $6.5 million. Fletcher has to make the numbers work in any trades involving the 33-year-old Pominville or 32-year-old Vanek—or other players on his roster.

The Wild has recessed for the NHL All-Star Game break. The Wild is 15 points behind the Central Division leading Blackhawks, 12 behind the Stars and 9 back of the Blues. After the All-Star break the club can’t count on the phenomenal goaltending play it had last winter when Devan Dubnyk made the Wild one of the NHL’s most successful teams prior to the playoffs.

With or without a trade in the next 30 days, coach Mike Yeo and his staff will have to develop more goal scoring with existing players. Whether it’s veterans, or disappointing younger skaters like Mikael Granlund, the Wild need to get better.

The club won only three of 13 games in January, with all the victories on the road. The next two games after the All-Star recess are away from Xcel Energy Center. Six of the next nine will be on the road, so maybe that’s an unexpected positive.

The Wild, with a record so far of 23-17-9, appears capable of making the playoffs but this is a franchise that historically can’t make a deep playoff run. That will be difficult to change until the Wild consistently score more goals.

Worth Noting

The Gophers’ Big Ten losing streak reaches nine consecutive games tonight if Minnesota loses to Purdue, a team that is among the favorites to win the conference championship. Minnesota players were emotionally low after letting a late game lead disappear and eventually losing in overtime to Illinois last Saturday night.

After the game Minnesota coach Richard Pitino was concerned about team emotions going forward. “It’s my job to get them back and get them ready to go,” he said. “Top 20 team (Purdue) in your building. You gotta keep fighting. That’s what we signed up for. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We’re close (to winning) and I think they (his players) see that.”

Sophomore point guard Nate Mason, who scored 19 points but couldn’t make a last second shot to win the Illinois game at the end of regulation, admitted there is a mental challenge getting ready for Purdue at home tonight. “It’s going to be difficult but we’ll respond,” he said on Saturday.

Minnesota prep basketball authority Ryan James labels Minnehaha Academy point guard Jalen Suggs the best eighth grader in the state, and some day a potential top 100 player nationally. Listed at 6-foot-1, Suggs’ skills include attacking defenses off the dribble.

The Timberwolves might be wise to place David Blatt—recently dismissed as Cavs coach—on their list of possible head coaching candidates for next season. Blatt, in his first NBA season, coached the Cavs to the 2015 NBA Finals. Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton should be on the Wolves’ radar, too. Sam Mitchell, the Wolves interim head guy, may get the job permanently but right now the best guess is owner Glen Taylor will wait until season’s end to decide.

After U.S. Bank Stadium opens this summer, look for the covered multipurpose facility to be continually in use with events ranging from Vikings football to hundreds of amateur baseball games to concerts. Luke Bryan is already scheduled for a first-ever August concert and a source told Sports Headliners U2 might play at the new Minneapolis stadium. Other event possibilities could include a monster truck pull and a pro wrestling extravaganza like the WWE’s SummerSlam. Although stadium and Minneapolis boosters were turned down for the 2020 College Football Playoff Championship Game, the same source said local interest remains for some day hosting the game.

In retrospect, the Vikings’ 2015 draft looks like one of the best in the NFL. First round selection cornerback Trae Waynes played just okay and remains a potential future starter, and later round choices Eric Kendricks (linebacker), Danielle Hunter (defensive end) and Stefon Diggs (wide receiver) made the PFWA’s All-Rookie team.

Thursday will be the 56th anniversary of the founding of the Vikings franchise—January 28, 1960.

Former Minnesota Wild president Tod Leiweke and ex-Vikings center Matt Birk are rising stars in executive positions for the NFL. If commissioner Roger Goodell were to retire in the next few years, the two might be on a list of candidates to replace him.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame Committee has announced six inductees from three divisions for its MFCA Hall of Fame. The 2016 inductees will be enshrined in the MFCA Hall of Fame at the 52nd Annual Football Hall of Fame Banquet on April 2 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park. The inductees from the High School Division are Don Henderson, Triton; Bernie Litecky, Totino-Grace; Flint Motschenbacher, Detroit Lakes; and Leo Pohlkamp, Pierz. Bethel’s Steve Johnson from the College Division will also be inducted, as will Citation Division representative Rand Middleton from the West Central Tribune.

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